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Type 96
The Type 96 is a heavy tank used by the People's Liberation Army in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. Overview The role of the Type 96 is simple, blow up anything stupid enough to get in its way. It does this extremely well as it is capable of setting most, if not all, vehicles on fire with one shot, although it cannot instantly destroy some of the more armored tanks like the M1. The Type 96 can take significant fire, even from heavy weapons. Its main weakness is against helicopters, as its gun often cannot rise high enough to shoot the helicopter, while it whittles away the tanks health with relative impunity. This tank is too heavy to be lifted by helicopters, and cannot be bought, although the Mafia will pay up to $40 000 for a Type 96 at full health. It can be found guarding the bridge into Dandong (even if the player destroyed the bridge permanently in BOOM!), along with the area near, fighting South Korean forces. It can also be found fighting SK forces at the valley north of the SK HQ. Tactics The Type 96 is a powerful and deadly tank, second best in the entire game. Against the other MBTs and armored fighting vehicles on the battlefields of North Korea, China's primary main battle tank ranks second to only one- the M1 Tank. The best evidence of this is that an M1 can withstand more than one direct hit from a Type 96's main gun, while a single shot from the M1 Tank's main cannon sets the Type 96 ablaze, causing it to explode a few seconds later. The armor, turret traverse, and firepower of a Type 96 make it much as the People's Liberation Army is to the mercenary overall- either a near-unstoppable ally and asset, or a lethally dangerous enemy. Driving a Type 96, especially when in good standing with Chinese forces, will show the player the truth of Colonel Peng's declaration early in the game: "Acting as our ally means you will be unstoppable". In battle against unarmored, light, and medium-armored vehicles the Type 96 is almost certain to emerge victorious. North Korea's army has been allowed to stagnate and is forced to rely mostly on obsolete designs dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, and the KPA pays for it when engaging the more modern, much better MBTs fielded by the Chinese. The Type 96 is only seriously threatened by ground vehicles lighter than itself when it is severely outnumbered or if the enemy has considerable numbers of heavy armor present. Its 125mm main cannon is able to destroy any vehicles lighter than the Type 96 very quickly, while other heavy armor can be destroyed easily enough. The Type 96 is NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) shielded, allowing it to operate safely in areas contaminated by high amounts of nuclear radiation. Like all MBTs, the Type 96 is most threatened by large numbers of enemy armored vehicles, helicopters, air strikes, or determined attacks from anti-tank infantry. The Type 96 has no means of countering a high-speed jet aircraft, while helicopters can easily fly above the maximum elevation of its main gun and out of reach of its machine gun. Infantry can damage and destroy a Type 96 with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles if not quickly dealt with. If the mercenary is friendlier with the South Koreans, the Type 96 will be encountered all too often, and is a much more serious threat than the obsolescent armor fielded by North Korea. The South Koreans have no main battle tanks in the game, or indeed, anything heavier than their single APC and copies of the American-made HMMWV. Air strikes, helicopters, or the firepower of another MBT will be needed to counter China's most advanced tank- against the armor of a Type 96, infantry-carried anti-tank weapons may take too long to destroy it. If forced to fight a hostile Type 96 crew on foot, the mercenary can move in close and try to kill its gunner, allowing them to hijack the Type 96- a good tactic for quickly dealing with one when caught on foot. Real life The Type 96 is based on the Chinese tank of the same name. It is a third generation main battle tank based on the Type 88 design; it entered service with the People's Liberation Army in 1997. Only two nations use the Type 96 MBT in 2016; the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Sudan (North Sudan). The Type 96 weighs 42.8 tons, can drive up to 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour), and is powered by a 780 horsepower diesel engine. It has a crew of three: driver, loader, commander. The Type 96 has an autoloader mounted in the turret, meaning that the tank loads shells into the main cannon and extracts spent casings automatically, removing the need for a fourth crewman in the role of loader. Approximately 2,000 Type 96 MBTs are in service with the People's Liberation Army as of 2016. Related pages *Type 80 *M1 Tank Gallery File:Type_96-China-Mercs.jpg|Type 96 as seen in the game manual. Category:Mercenaries Category:Vehicles Category:Tanks Category:People's Liberation Army